Dear Auntie Manda, I have recently started to seriously try to reconnect with my Choctaw culture. My Great-great Grandpa, was an enrolled member of Choctaw Nation. He was orphaned as a child and enrolled in 1903, signing the Dawes Roll and moving to Oklahoma. For some reason, his children we not enrolled, which meant neither was my Nana or my father. My mom is full white and my dad is mixed, which makes me look very ambiguous to people because of my lighter skin and freckles. I’m afraid of overstepping by reconnecting since I’ve been socialized as a white person. I’ve started learning Choctaw and Tribal history, but I’m afraid to openly claim my heritage as a part of my identity for fear of backlash, not just from people who don’t know me, but from people that do. A few times, I’ve had friends and even family ask me, “Why is this so important to you? Why now?” I can’t put it into words, but I’ve always felt so lost and have had no cultural connection to anything growing up. I don’t want to feel disconnected anymore. Also, another thing that complicates my existence is the fact that I’m transgender. Perhaps, this is another reason why I feel lost. Not only do I want to feel like a whole woman, I want to feel like a whole person. Anyway, do you have any advice?
Hi Auntie! I recently have been using crystals but am curious about Native American religion since I am Native American myself, I don’t want to betray any religion but I just want to know if I can believe in both!
I’m an native elder (Pomo) my older grandchildren were given a Indian name and younger ones do not. I no longer know of spiritual person to do that. So would love to give my grandchildren a Indian name is it proper for me to have that privilege.
Hi, I have a difficulty with one of my teachers at school. She often puts down my religion by comparing it to other Abrahamic religions and talks about in in an unflattering light. In my country, my religion is the majority but in my opinion, faces a lot of bigotry, more so than the minorities. We don’t have control over our religious sites, we can’t endorse schools based on our religion, and we are often portrayed as fascist when I can guarantee that we are the furthest from that label. I want to confront my teacher and tell her how her misinformed and one sided statements are offensive, not only to me but to other students of my religion as well. However I don’t want to be seen as a bigot, or rigid in my beliefs. This is difficult since majority of my peer group are exposed to media that deliberately manipulates information to distort my religion, which is indigenous to my country and has survived both the Mughal Invasion as well as the British Empire. Can I have some advice on how to make my stance and concerns clear without being labelled as a bigot?
I’m Navajo but was raised in the corn pollen way. We live in Southern California now because we’re in the military however I want our son to be involved with his Native roots. How do I find him a mentor to start being in powwows?
I’m a 19 year old Two-Spirit who identifies as male. For me to feel comfortable I cut my hair because growing up even on my Rez girls had long hair and unless you have “Native hair” boys have short hair. I want to grow my hair but I don’t want my tribes people to start calling me female names/pronouns. Any tips?
hello, My name is Jasmin and for the sake of a longer story i will just say that I am Latina. I am on a journey of reconnecting with my ancestral roots and, through no real evidence, I believe that those roots are, at least, partially indigenous. I am working on decolonizing my mind and have lost my faith in the religion that i grew up in (which is catholicism) I want to explore the faith and culture of my indigenous ancestors but I do not know if they have survived today and if they are how I can reach out and if they are not how it is i can find that identity that I am desperate to find because right now I’m so lost and lonely. I don’t know what to do or how to start. Please help?
Hi Auntie! I recently have been using crystals but am curious about Native American religion since I am Native American myself, I don’t want to betray any religion, but I just want to know if I can believe in both!
My momma is really homophobic, and I asked her once what she would do if I came out to her. She said she would kick me out and disown me. My dad is pretty homophobic too, and I’m really scared of the finding out on accident that I’m bisexual. Can you help me think of a plan if they do find out?
